Will Chickens eat "Horse apples"?

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Yup horse apples are road apples here too.


My birds LOVE to scratch thru fresh or even older road apples. They - the chickens pickin thru and breaking up the apples - helps cut down on the fly population.

 

[rrgrassi]

I'm not talking about horse manure. I know chickens dig through it, and dogs will happily go for a roll in it.

I'm talking about the fruit of of a tree. They are about the size of a soft ball or bigger. Horses and cows, along with squirrels, possums, etc will eat them.

I have one that says no and one that says try it...what say the rest that actually know about this type of tree and fruit it bears?

The Hedgeapple link was great! Thanks ChickensAreSweet! I did not know they were called hedge apples.

 

[Karrie13]

Quote:
That was exactly what I was thinking when I read the title!

 

[gryeyes]

From Wikipedia: "Osage-orange, Horse-apple, Bois D'Arc, or Bodark (Maclura pomifera) is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) tall. It is dioeceous, with male and female flowers on different plants. The fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, but bumpy, and 7–15 cm in diameter, and it is filled with a sticky white latex sap. In fall, its color turns a bright yellow-green and it has a faint odor similar to that of oranges.
Maclura is closely related to the genus Cudrania, and hybrids between the two genera have been produced. In fact, some botanists recognize a more broadly defined Maclura that includes species previously included in Cudrania and other genera of Moraceae.

Osajin and Pomiferin are flavonoid pigments present in the wood and fruit, comprising about 10% of the fruit's dry weight. The plant also contains the flavonol morin.

Recent research suggests that elemol, another component extractable from the fruit, shows promise as a mosquito repellent with similar activity to DEET in contact and residual repellency."

 

[rrgrassi]

Thanks Gryeyes!

It's funny, I have grown up with these trees, and thier thorns puncture the tires on my mower...the wood is really pretty when cut, and the tree sap is the white sticky latex like in the fruit.

There are lots of turn of the century (early 1900's) houses that are still sitting on the bocks of wood from this type of tree. If you driving through north texas, ans see old barbed wire fencing with crooked posts, chances are the posts are from this type of tree.

 

[roosterdog]

(aka Bois d' arc or Osage Orange) the apples are good to take odor out of your car. Put a couple on the dash for a few days.Really for smokers.

 

[rrgrassi]

Well, my birds refused to peck at the hedge apple.

 

[KansasKate]

Sad to see that they don't eat them...I just posted about this. Our squirrels love them even though I've read that rodents aren't supposed to like them. Maybe * my * chickens will like them? (* hopes *)

 

[jomercer]

Quote:
I've only ever heard them called hedge apples....horse apples being horse droppings. Not poisonous AFAIK.